Why in news? The Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an initial outlay of Rs19,744 crore, aimed at making the country a global hub to produce, utilise and export green hydrogen and its derivatives.

Highlights

What is types of hydrogen?

• Hydrogen is a key industrial fuel that has a variety of applications including the production of ammonia (a key fertilizer), steel, refineries and electricity.
• Black/Brown hydrogen : Produced from coal.
• Grey hydrogen : Produced from natural gas
• Blue hydrogen : It is from fossil fuel sources where the ensuring carbon emitted is captured via carbon-capture processes.

Green hydrogen

• Produced via electrolysis, the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen with electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as solar or wind.
• It is the most environmentally sustainable way of producing hydrogen.

What is the National Green Hydrogen Mission?

• The intent of the mission is to incentivise the commercial production of green hydrogen and make India a net exporter of the fuel.
• The mission has laid out a target to develop green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonne) per annum with adding renewable energy capacity of about 125 GW (gigawatt) in the country.
• By 2030, the Centre hopes its investments will bring in investments worth 8 trillion and create over six lakh jobs.
• About 50 MMT per annum of CO2 emissions are expected to be averted by 2030.
• As per its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, India has committed to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030, from 2005 levels.

How will the mission support green hydrogen production?

• It will “facilitate demand creation, production, utilisation and export of Green Hydrogen”
• The mission will decarbonisation of the industrial, mobility and energy sectors; reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock
• It helps in developing indigenous manufacturing capabilities, creating employment opportunities and developing new technologies such as efficient fuel cells.

Offer incentives

• Priority power supply for manufacturers, concessions and short-term waivers for distributors and transmission costs, respectively
• Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is expected to operate a single-window clearance system for proposals.

Public-private partnership

• The mission will facilitate a public-private partnership framework for research and development (R&D).

There are two umbrella sub-missions under the programme.

• Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT):
• It will fund the domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and produce green hydrogen.
• To support pilot projects in emerging end-use sectors and production pathways:
• States and regions capable of supporting large scale production and/or utilisation of hydrogen will be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs.
• According to the Ministry, 17,490 crore for the SIGHT programme, Rs. 1,466 crore for pilot projects and hydrogen hubs, Rs. 400 crore for research and development and Rs.388 crore for other parts of the mission.

What are the challenges ahead?

• Many advanced economies have also announced plans and policies to develop such an economy and given their advanced industrial infrastructure, can steal a march over India.
• Green hydrogen development is still in the nascent stages globally and while India can take the lead in being a major producer, it doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure yet to execute all these intermediary steps.
• There is a needs to announce incentives to convince enough users of industrial hydrogen to adopt green hydrogen.
• India needs to develop supply chains in the form of pipelines, tankers, intermediate storage and last leg distribution networks as well as put in place an effective skill development programme to ensure that lakhs of workers can be suitably trained to adapt to a viable green hydrogen economy.
• India’s underlying manufacturing base continues to be weak and unable to efficiently absorb and utilise global capital.

Ex: India has not managed to be a net exporter of solar cells, semiconductors or wind power components

• Storing and moving hydrogen also incurs non-trivial costs because the gas leaks easily. Even small quantities of liquid hydrogen, which is easier to transport, react explosively with air
• International Level Participation

European Union

• It unveiled the Hydrogen Strategy for a Climate-Neutral Europe with the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by incorporating hydrogen into EU plans.

South Korean government

• Announced its plan to introduce the Clean Hydrogen Energy Portfolio Standards (CHPS) that emphasizes the use of clean hydrogen.

China

• It is the leader of the global hydrogen market with an output of 20 million tons, accounting for ⅓ of global production.
• As part of preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics a hydrogen electrolyzer, described as the “world’s largest” began operations to provide fuel for vehicles used at the games.

United States

• Governors of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma announced the creation of a hydrogen energy hub between the states.

Question

National Green Hydrogen Mission aims to aid the government in meeting its climate targets and making India a green hydrogen hub. Critically Analyze